"When I heard about you on the T.V. I thought you were smart!" laughed the strange man pointing a paper white hand at Slade. "But now I see your crazier then me!"
Slade narrowed his eyes behind his mask at the man. He had believed that he would have been a bit more serious about crime, and that being the funny man was just part of his look. But this man acted like a child, he always made the stupidest jokes and puns, and he was selling Slade short. He thought he was too good for Slade
But Slade was patient. It took a long time to finally get the man over to meet him. He didn't want to chase him away just yet.
"I'm not crazy. In fact I think I know more things about how to get the job done then you do." Slade said smoothly.
That seemed to tick the man off a little. For his eyes lost their shine and his shoulders clenched, but his smile did not vanish.
"If I wanted Robin, or even cared about him, I would have snipped his wings a long time ago." He answered back shrugging his shoulders. His purple suit looked a dark shade of gray in the dim light of Slade's underground Lair.
Slade had the money if he wanted to install lights. But he didn't want it to get bright, he enjoyed the darkness. It made him think well and it struck fear into the hearts of his enemies.
"I don't want Robin dead." Slade answered. Even though he didn't love Robin, or even like him as a person, it did get him somewhat mad when people would underestimate the boy. "I want him alive an safe. But I want him to work for me."
The mad man shook his head and let out howls of laughter. It wasn't a normal laugh. It was loud, thick and shook the very walls of the lair. It sent needles of fear threw Slade's heart and down his veins. It was downright scary. But Slade didn't let it show.
The man slowly stopped laughing and whipped the tears out of his eyes. He ran his white hands threw slime green hair and walked over to Slade. Wrapping one arm around Slade's armored shoulder and the other one pointing to his chest.
'Tell me Sladey." He chuckled. "What's your fascination with the Boy Blunder anyway?"
Slade pushed the man off his body. He hated being touched, and the pet name wasn't helping ether. He walked to his computer where the screen was filled with images of Titan Tower and the Jump City Ocean.
"You see. You fight already grown men and woman. You can't change who they already are." Slade stated as if giving an English lesson.
"I go after the heroes. You go after the sidekicks. The Underdogs! Small Fishes!"
"You're not understanding what I'm saying. Now listen." Slade snapped not turning his head to the man. The man let out a little 'huff' and crossed his arms, but all the same leaned against the wall and listened to Slade's words. "You fight, and you fight. Someone wins, but never earns anything. You just go and fight again. That's because Batman is grown, he knows who he is and what he has already become, you can't change him."
The man's smile shrunk slightly. Slade's words seemed to be taking effect.
"Robin is still growing. He doesn't know what his future holds yet. He doesn't know what he wants to be. He still has time to change. And if he's forced into a life that we want, he could be the perfect villain. And he would be on our side.
"I don't want Robin dead or as an enemy. I want him as an apprentice."
The man's mouth fell open in surprise and eyes widened in complete shock. It didn't last long though. The man fell to the ground, clutching his ribs. He rolled around like a two year old who had just watched a dog walk on its hind legs.
Slade stood there and watched the killer laugh his heart out at what he had just said. Slade was starting to get a little frustrated, but he didn't let it be known. This man that he was alone with might be crazy and weird… but he was the world's most known murders, a psycho path. He was known to have a split personality. Making you feel save and think that he wasn't going to hurt you, then the second you let your guard down or said one wrong thing… he made sure that you would never do it again.
His favorite weapon was some kind of giant mallet, swing it over your head and he'd laugh as your blood splashed over the ground and your skull shattered into two. But he always had something up his sleeve. A gun, a knife, his razor cards, exploding shoes…
A crowbar….
Some say that he would take the bodies of the ones he killed and make puppets out of them. He wouldn't even bother to clean them, he liked the sight of blood dripping from the uncared for wounds when he would hang them from the ceiling.
Other say that his girlfriend and him roast the dead over a fire and roast marshmallows in each others arms. That it was their idea of the perfect date.
Other reports are that he would feed you alive to his two pet hyenas. He would laugh along with them as they ripped your skin apart and sunk their giant teeth into your throat. Your screams would only make the beast hungrier for blood… and it would only give him a better show.
What ever he did, Slade did not want to get him mad… not yet. Not until he had earned the trust of the man and then he would turn the cards on him. Beat him at his own game. He would use the man to get to Robin, destroy the titans, and then he would have Robin kill him.
Something told him that Robin would already be happy to do that.
The man looked up at Slade and only laughed harder. The idea as Robin as an apprentice was just too much.
"What is so funny?" Asked Slade. He would wait for the man to answer then he would put him in his place.
"Y-you!" chocked the man pointing a shaking hand at Slade. "Y-yo-ahah-you want th-the- hahah- Jr. Bat –AHAHAH- TO WORK FOR YOU!"
"And?"
The man shook his head and slowly stood up. His legs shook and his body trembled.
"So you want to pull a Batman. Your ganna nap the Bird Brat, train him under your wing and have him be your sidekick…AHAHAH!"
Slade just waited for the man to say what he wanted to say.
"OH' Sladey, Sladey. I must admit that I overestimated you. I heard that you were the greatest Crime doer that the world has seen. Well next to me…And Lex Luther...and The Kingpin…and lets not forget about Bloodshed…well you know what I mean. But here I see that you have the stupidest ideas that I have ever heard of! Robin! ROBIN!" And this he threw his hands in the air and waved them vigorously.
"Baby Bat is nothing! He's just a little ant that hangs around at the picnic table. Just kill him and let that be that. I don't even know why the bat has him around. He can do better."
"And many don't know why you have Harley Quinn." Slade answered softly. "It's funny that you think that about Robin. I have been watching you for a while and I've noticed something. Batman might be the one who brings you to prison, but Robin is the one that puts the cuffs on you, he is always the one who brings you down at the last minuet."
The man stopped laughing… his smile began to fade away. That seemed to get him mad. After a few seconds on silence he shook it off and smiled again, reaching into his coat pocket.
"Now lets not get mean. The kid has some skills. Most of the time he just gets lucky." He said shrugging in self-defense.
"Luck isn't the word. Robin is an excellent fighter. I know that for a fact. He is well trained and determined. He would make the perfect villain."
The man dug deeper into his pocket as if looking for something. "You know this for a fact?"
"Yes. He has been my apprentice before."
The man stopped searching and froze. He then looked at Slade and just stared.
"Jr. betrayed Daddy and worked for you?" He said in an almost stunned voice. Then he narrowed his painted eyes at Slade as if he was lying to him. "Why?"
"I threatened his friends lives. Told him I would make him watch them die if he didn't do everything I said."
The man threw his head back and laughed at the ceiling. He seemed to laugh at everything and it was getting annoying… and down right scary. The laugh echoed threw the giant lair and bounced off the walls and rang in Slade's ear.
"Nice touch. I do like that." He said when he was finished. "So you pulled a Bloodshed and got Wonder Boy to work for you just like he got that Despoiler chick to work for him. Impressive. But still small."
"You're going to help me. Whether you like it or not." Slade said as he turned his back to the man.
That got the man mad. He liked being the one in charge, not the one who got pushed around. Nobody, NOBODY talks to him that way.
He reached back into his pocket and found what he was looking for.
"Why don't you go hook up with Two-Face or the Hobgoblin." He laughed, whipping out a small hand held gun from his pocket. He pointed it at Slade's back where his heart was located. "Their CRAZY like that!"
Then he pulled the trigger. The was a horrible loud shot noise as the bullet made it's way from the gun to Slade's armor. Thinking that He had just killer Slade the man stood and waited for him to fall to the ground. But he didn't.
Slade turned around and faced the man who's' mouth was hanging open in shock that he didn't kill him.
"You'll have to do better than that to kill me." Slade said in a dangerous tone. Just then the doors of the lair closed shut with a loud Bang. The man whorled around and looked at what had just happened. He was trapped.
"You have no choice but to help me." Slade answered.
"I like you." Said the man as he walked closer to Slade. He wrapped his arm around his neck again and smiled wider. "This could be the start of a be-au-ti-ful relationship.
"And who would want to mess with Slade and The Joker?"
"My point exactly." Said Slade. He let Joker keep his arm around him because it seemed to be earning his trust. "I heard rumors that you knew the identity of Batman. Do you know Robin's as well?"
Joker released Slade and walked around in circles rubbing his chin. He seemed to be thinking about the question.
"I used to." He answered after a few moments. "Something like Richard…or was it Tim…No it was Jason, defiantly Jason…it might have been Grayson though, or Todd…Drake?"
"Those names are nothing alike. How do you get them confused?" Slade hissed.
"Hey, There have been a few little brats." Joker said shrugging.
"Pick two of the ones that sound the best."
"Ummm… Richard and Jason. Those two sound the best on the tongue." He said as he sat in Slade's chair and wheeled in around with his legs hanging out.
"Richard and Jason." Said Slade. "Hmm, I wouldn't have guessed that."
"Yeah tell me about it. He looks like a Thomas to me." Joker said laughing still swinging on the chair. What a freak.
"How do you know their names?" asked Slade watching his chair spin with a purple dressed clown in it.
"Batman's real name is Bruce Wayne. The king of Gotham. He had a ward named Richard and an adopted son named Jason." Said The Joker shrugging his shoulders. "You just put two and two together. Not that hard to figure out."
"I see." Said Slade. He walked closer to the Joker. "Tell me. Do you know the other titan's identity?"
Joker lifted one eyebrow and stared at Slade in confusion. "The who?"
"I'll take that as a no."
"So tell me crazy man." Said the Joker. "How are we going to get the Bird Brat to work for you?"
----T.T.---
"Dude where is the remote?" said Beast Boy right before he turned into a mouse and went under the couch looking for it.
"Go ask Robin." Said Raven who was getting annoyed with the whole 'tearing the tower apart' "He had it last."
"Robin!" Screamed Cyborg.
Robin sighed. He and Starfire were enjoying a conversation about the planer while they split a soda. They may not be Boyfriend and Girlfriend, but they still liked each other, and Robin hated when people would ruin his moments.
"What?" He asked Getting up with Star following him.
"Where did you put the remote?" Asked Beast Boy when he came out of the couch and turned back into his 'human' form.
"Where it's supposed to go. On the coffee table." Said Robin in a low voice.
"Why would you put it there?" Asked Cyborg as he blobbed down on the couch and reached for the remote.
Robin out his head in his head and sighed. He loved his friends but they wore on him sometimes.
But he didn't have time to tell them that they were annoying him because at that very second the titan alarm sounded bathing the whole room in a reddish glow of light.
"Titans trouble!" Yelled Robin.
All right, I promise that it will get better! This was just the first chapter it will get better! Just to tell you this may not end well… it may get really sad. Guest stars: Joker, Harley Quinn, Batman, and Titan's East.
Bloodshed- He's a villain from my comic book. His real name Id Jonathan, last name not known yet. He's a psycho path oppressed with Despoiler and will do anything to hurt her or make her work for him. He once killed the boy she loved when she refused him.
Despoiler- Hero from my Comic, Aurora Night
Kingpin- MARVEL villain. He's everywhere, I want too kill him so badly.
Hobgoblin- Spiderman foe. He was there before the Green goblin was
Richard Grayson- first Robin. Ward to Bruce Wayne. He is not Nightwing
Jason Todd- second Robin. Street kid of the Gotham. His father was a two bit criminal who worked for Two Face. Bruce took him in when his father died and trained him. He was killed by the Joker who beat him with a crowbar and blew him up.
Tim Drake- Third Robin.